Kiana Webb-Severloh is a second-generation McDonald’s franchise owner. Webb-Severloh owns the restaurant at the corner of Baseline Road and Carnelian Street in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Photo by Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

Before Don Thompson, there was Reginald Webb. And Ronald McDonald would never be the same.

It was 1973 when a headhunter recruited Webb, a young, African-American graduate of Cal State Los Angeles, to become a manager at McDonald’s.

By then, McDonald’s had come a long way from its San Bernardino roots. The company’s first international restaurant had opened six years earlier. And in the same year Webb was recruited, the then 18-year-old company debuted its Quarter Pounder.

But beyond burgers and golden arches, something else was going on: social change.

And Webb, an up-and-coming, 24-year-old talent with leadership potential, found himself in the middle of it, with an opportunity to work, and lead, for a major company.

Getting through it wasn’t easy.

But today, 40 years later, and as the nation celebrates Black History Month, Webb, 65, is considered a pioneer. He’s one of a handful of black Americans who established early roots not only with an iconic brand, but who used those roots as a way to help communities and raise families.

‘It was lonely’

By the time Webb was recruited, blacks in the U.S. had made gains with landmark civil rights legislation in the 1960s. The nation was shedding segregation.

But Webb found himself in a world that was still catching up to a grander dream of social justice.

“It was lonely because there were so few of us,” he said. “There used to be a time, when I was on an airplane, or a restaurant, or a nice hotel, I would be the only one, or there would be very few of us.”

As an emerging leader, Webb’s biggest challenge was to learn to adapt to a different culture. And that had business implications.

“I think the biggest challenge is that most of us came from a community that was segregated and so most of us grew up in predominantly African-American communities, and went to school in predominantly African-American schools. There was a cultural difference to go into a world where most of the people you work with, the places you went to, the foods you had, the music you heard – was different. So you not only had to compete from a business standpoint, but also adapt to a different culture.”

That was was the world Webb stepped into.

He did have some good things going for him.

In 1968, McDonald’s Corporation and its management team decided that black business leaders would be able to better address issues and concerns in the communities where they live and work, according to the National Black McDonald’s Operator’s Association.

Herman Petty, of Chicago, became the first black owner-operator of a McDonald’s in 1968.

By the end of the 1960s, there were 12 African-American McDonald’s owners in the Midwest.

That helped.

Webb rose through the ranks.

By 1980, he was vice president of Los Angeles regional operations. It was that year when he bought his first restaurant.

And others would benefit.

There are more than 300 African-American McDonald’s owner-operators.

Lindsay Hughes, who owns a restaurant in West Hollywood, is one of them.

For Hughes, who grew up in Watts as one of 12 children, the investment in black ownership has paid off since the late 60s, when he got involved with the company.

“Any major company recognizes the fact that if you have a black consumer market, you need to take care of it,” said Hughes, who attended the University of Redlands while working at McDonald’s. “McDonald’s has given so much back to the black community in education, to churches. We have done so many things in the community.”

Same for families like Nicole Enearu’s. She began working under her mother, Patricia Williams in 2002. Now the family owns more than 22 restaurants, many in Compton.

Family business

For Webb and early owners, owning a McDonald’s has become a family affair, and ushered in new generations of ownership that has branched into philanthropy and other causes.

There are 12 black owner-operators in what McDonald’s calls the SoCal Co-Op, which includes Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Riverside and Orange counties. Five of them are second-generation.

Webb-Severloh characterized her father’s rise to management and leadership in the early 1970s as rare and historic.

“For McDonald’s to want to invest in minorities in a corporate structure was really impressive,” said Webb-Severloh, 36. “There were challenges. Nobody was really embracing it, in my opinion, the way McDonald’s was at the time.”

That’s changed.

The company’s CEO, Don Thompson, is black, and rose through the ranks after joining the company as an electrical engineer in 1990, according to the company’s website. He became the company’s first black CEO in 2012.

The fruits of multi-generational ownership means owners have establised ties in cities throughout the region.

And the descendents of Webb and others embrace the connections.

Webb’s daughter, helps advance educational opportunities for young people in Pomona, where she owns a McDonald’s.

Webb-Severloh became an owner-operator herself in 2005. Being a business leader has given Webb-Severloh the opportunity to give back to the community with a literacy program she supports at the Pomona Unified School District.

The district has an accelerated reader program and Webb-Severloh contributes resources such as e-readers, e-books, and furniture for classroom reading areas at four district elementary schools. The program is designed to help students with their reading proficiency.

“Her specific interest in literacy and her willingness to learn from us and collaborate with us while making contributions to that area just speaks to her level of responsibility that she feels and her self determination to support agencies such as us, the schools, which are doing what’s right and best for students and families,” said Stephanie Baker, deputy superintendent with the Pomona Unified School District.

Webb-Severloh believes it’s necessary for local businesses to give back to the community.

“I feel that when communities thrive, it’s when everyone is pulling for the success of that community,” Webb-Severloh said. “It’s not just the schools, or the parents, or the businesses, or the community non-profit organizations, but it’s all of us coming together to really create a successful community.”

Don Bailey Jr., who owns a McDonald’s near the Coliseum in Los Angeles, has a similar philosophy. Bailey is a second-generation African-American McDonald’s owner – his father Don Bailey Sr. owns six properties in South Los Angeles.

“I’m a big supporter of LAPD cadets,” Bailey Jr. said. “My father was in the LAPD for 20 years, and I wanted to support cadets, who want to be law enforcement personnel. For me it’s the operator’s willingness to make a difference in the community.”

Legacy

There are more than 335 franchisees in National Black McDonald’s Owner’s Association, with 1,200 restaurants throughout the United States. The franchises combined gross more than $2 billion annually in sales.

And Webb’s contributions to the history of the region, to McDonald’s and to the culture have not gone unnoticed.

He is seen as a trailblazer.

“Reggie was a pioneer,” said Renford Reese, political science professor at Cal Poly Pomona. “He was a first on many levels, and for African-Americans, he paved the way for a lot of African-Americans to own their own franchises.”

And many local owners see their success as a positive influence for young black people to aspire to.

When Webb looks back, he reflects on some difficult days. But now he’s kind of lovin’ it.

“The early days were difficult, because you didn’t have very many successful business owners or many educated professionals in the African-American community,” Webb said. “Most didn’t come from a tradition of success. We’re establishing that tradition of success today. It’s multi-generational.

Neil Nisperos has been a reporter covering everything from business to education, courts, politics, city government, features, arts and entertainment since 1999. On social media, he has a combined following of about 25,300 people over various apps and platforms. He's passionate about the cinema, science, philosophy, poetry, art, photography, culture, literature and history. He feels fortunate to be in the profession that keeps power in check, memorializes people's stories for posterity and helps people with useful information.

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